Lucy's Spleen

Final Conclusion: Maiden & Sabbath= Both Awesome

I have four days left at work and am feeling pretty ready to move on to the great state of Unemployment at this point, but I have been experiencing a few tender feelings for things I will miss about working at the Youth Brigade, including (certain among) the kids and the always-entertaining things they say and do and produce. For example, this exemplary "compare and contrast" writing assignment by Remi; Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath Part tWo The rewrite [Final Draft], which I lovingly present for your enjoyment:

The essay reads:

"The two bands I chose to compare and contrast are both metal bands. Metal bands have heavy guitar parts and insane drum and bass parts. The first one was Black sabbath and the second one w Iron Maiden.

The way that Iron Maiden and Black sabbath are similar is they are both english bands. Another way is they both have great musicians like ozzy and Steve hairison.

The First way that black sabbath and Iron Maiden [are different] is maiden is still together and Sabbath is not. Also sabbath has ozzy and maiden does not. ozzy is the guy who bit a bats head off onstage.

In my conclusion both bands are awesome. The way that maiden is awesome is for their song the trooper and Sabbath is awesome for their song warpigs. That is why I chose those bands."

(P.S. This post is dedicated to Chris.)

1st visit to Boston, 2nd visit to the East Coast ever, big changes afoot.

I'm writing from a web cafe in the posh Newbury Street neighborhood in Boston, MA waiting for Stan to come meet me and feeling slightly ill at ease as this neighborhood, though charming, is a little *too* posh for me. To combat any ill effects of chicness overexposure I've been walking along the street farting merrily, trying to keep my sense of humor.

We've been in town since Saturday, walking extensively and studying the lay of the land as we've searched for an affordable apartment in a safe neighborhood within reasonable distance from a T stop for me and biking distance from Harvard (tall demands for a pair of folks with limited resources), where Stan will be starting his doctorate program in the fall. All this business of moving has been in the works for a while now, but suddenly things seem to be moving *very* fast. Our week here is already over (we'll be home tomorrow), we're to sign the lease with our new landlord this evening, tidy up the house where we're staying (thanks, gracious friends from high school!), finish Harry Potter 7 (very important- I'm 3/4 through and the book stays at the house), go home, work for nine more days, pack, sell our cars, have a party and drive across the country. I'm thrilled and- as of very recently- slightly terrified.

Mostly I'm thrilled, though. This has been my first visit to Boston and I'm pleased to find that I like it very well. I love the neighborhood where our apartment will be. I feel like I've got a preliminary sense of how to navigate and should be able to hit the ground running (well enough) for my job search when we land. We've got a couple of hours to be on vacation now- the city is bustling and the weather is perfect so I'm off to enjoy it, maybe take in a couple more historic sites while we build up more leg strength for all the walking we'll be making routine in just a few short weeks. So for now for the interwebs- here's to friends and family and to flexibility in the face of major changes- cheers!